


The Lost Prince

by Kiyleeee



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Bow Doesn't Break His Promises, Bow Made a Promise, Bow is Smitten, Bow to the Rescue, Kyle Has A Family, Kyle Is Sweet, Kyle is Overwhelmed, Kyle was Kidnapped, M/M, PTSD, Porn With Plot, Possible Future Mpreg, The Best Friends Gang, The Best Friends Squad, confused, touch starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:40:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21560572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyleeee/pseuds/Kiyleeee
Summary: When Kyle meets Bow his entire life is thrown into confusion. He thought his existence was meant to be a slog of miserable training and nothing else until he finally went to the front lines to die, but Bow and his dazzling brown eyes are giving him new hope.Hope is deadly and dangerous, a weakness.Isn't it?
Relationships: Bow/Kyle (She-Ra)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 133
Collections: She-Ra





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: This story goes AU during the First Season Episode: “No Princess Left Behind” 
> 
> Kyle is just too sweet to leave in the clutches of the Horde, don't you think? 
> 
> Disclaimer: I own no part of She-Ra Princesses of Power or the original She-Ra. This is for my own amusement and fun, and hopefully a few other people will enjoy it as well.

_Kyle_  
Horde Officer Trainee

My hands shook as I carried the tray of food for the prisoner being held in the high security cells. The man hadn’t looked that scary to me when Scorpia brought him in unconscious, but everyone was acting like he would be able to single handedly murder us all. My stomach flipped and warmed in spite of the shiver of apprehension that raced up my spine.

I’d gotten a good look at the prisoner—so tall Scorpia was a little awkward carrying him, cute face, from one of the Etherian races that looked a lot like me, nice muscles—and when Scopria had flopped him into the cell his hard abs were on display through his curiously cropped shirt. Why would anyone remove part of their clothing? It would be poor protection during a fight. The prisoner was probably the most attractive person I’d ever seen up close. I rarely got to leave the Fright Zone because my training record wasn’t good enough—everyone was afraid I’d die if I got into a really bad spot.

They absolutely did _not_ make men here in the Zone like our prisoner. My cheeks grew warm and I stumbled, nearly sending the tray I held crashing to the cement floor. I winced. I’d managed to find some gray ration bars for the prisoner, the best ones, so I did not want to drop anything. If I managed to ruin this food, all I had left were my brown bars, and I wasn’t actually supposed to be giving the man food at all, only water.

That just seemed so _mean_ , though.

Catra was scary now that she was Force Captain, so I hoped she wouldn’t find out about this. She might actually put me in a cell, too, for a few days. She thought I was next to useless, but because she thought I wasn’t worth anything, she never paid attention to what I did. I hoped that kept up. I’d carefully encouraged everyone around me to think I was bad at _everything_ because my stomach went sour every time I thought of going out into Etheria and killing people, even if they were monsters like the princesses and their supporters. If I was even slightly better in our training sessions, I’d have been sent to the front lines with the team by now.

I came to the end of the gloomy hallway and entered my passcode to open the secured door into the cell holding block. The high security cells were kept in what we called “The Drop,” suspended in the middle of a metal spiral tower, constructed personally by Hordak, so that they couldn’t be tunneled or blasted into from the outside, and they were only accessible by bridge. The fucking bridge was supposed to be an added security precaution, but I wasn’t a fan of heights, and the gaping, grated metal that let me look nearly five hundred feet straight down always made me woozy when I walked across. It was terrible till I got to the more solid flooring outside the actual cells.

Maybe there really was a reason no one trusted me to go out into Etheria and fight. I liked to think I let everyone assume I'm terrible at fighting and being a soldier. Maybe I'm just fooling myself. I gritted my teeth and stared directly ahead toward the cells while I sweated and trembled my way across the bridge. The loud clanking of my boots on metal made the bridge sound even less solid than I knew it was. When I was finally to the flooring on the other side that didn’t let me see down to my own death, I heaved a sigh of relief and stood there catching my breath. The air in here was fresher than in the compound, so I enjoyed that for a few seconds. Inside the cell, the prisoner was awake for the first time since I’d been coming to check on him. Scorpia’s venom must have finally worn off. He looked at me and actually smiled when he saw me.

I froze. That was insane.

People didn’t smile unless they’d just won a battle game or got a promotion… or got one over on me. Uneasy and confused, I stepped closer to the cell.

“Um,” I stood up straighter. My mission was nothing, simply to bring enough water to keep the prisoner hydrated and ready for whenever Catra decided to interrogate him, or Hordak ordered him brought to his Sanctum. “I have a t-tray for you.”

“Oh, good. Thanks.” The guy in the cell did it again. He _smiled_. He still had his weapons, why no one had taken them I wasn’t sure, and he idly fiddled with an arrow before he shoved it back into his quiver. “Are you going to drop the containment shield to give it to me?” 

I stared blankly at the green wall in front of us. I hadn’t thought about how this would go down, and now I wondered if maybe Catra was hoping I’d fuck this up somehow so she could finally get rid of me. She never did seem fond of me. At least Adora hadn’t actively disliked me. I missed her. She was usually fair. Adora would have done this herself, or given me clear instructions. I could see why Shadow Weaver kept sending Catra out to bring her back. She had been the only person in this place who wasn’t awful, and now she was gone.

My heart sank as I eyed the control panel and studied the prisoner’s bow and arrows again. Damn it, how could I give him anything without getting shot?

“If I open this to give you rations, you’re just going to kill me aren’t you?”

He blinked at me with large eyes that really didn’t look like a killer’s eyes. They gleamed with some emotion, and I couldn’t tell what shade of brown they were with the forcefield between us, but it did funny things to me to look back at him, made it harder for me to breath and my skin flushed and tingled. He seemed interested in me. No one ever looked at me that way. Was this some enemy trick? I ducked my head so we weren’t making eye contact any longer.

“No. I won’t. I don’t kill people. I might rush you and try to escape.” Then the enemy, this man who traveled with princesses of all people, did something amazing. He threw his head back and laughed, a sweet, pleasant, rich sound I’d never heard before. It sounded so… well, nice. Those tingles rushed around on my skin and settled to buzz excitedly in my belly. I chewed on the inside of my lip. This felt good, and I wasn’t sure what to do about that. Maybe he wasn’t the crazy one, but _I_ was losing my mind. It happened sometimes to soldiers.

“I’ll get into trouble if you do that. Get away, I mean. I'd be dead anyway, even if you didn't put an arrow in me.”

“I’m Bow,” he said apropos of nothing. I shivered. “Bow… well, I’d tell you my last name if you weren’t a Horde soldier and likely to go murder my whole family.”

I straightened up and irritation had me squaring my shoulders as I gritting my teeth. “Us? Murder people? No, the Horde is liberating this planet from the rebellion so that we can go back to an orderly society of laws. The rebellion murders Horde soldiers. Lord Hordak has everyone’s best interests at heart. Things are just… rough because we have to be strong to help restore society.” My hands shook. I’d heard these truths about the Horde my entire life, but this very attractive man seemed confused. He seemed to think we were bad.

“You know, you look familiar, sort of.” Bow tilted his head and frowned. “What’s your name?”

“You want to know my name?” I gasped. No one ever cared who I was. I started to feel silly holding the tray, so I set it down on the floor beside me and crossed my arms over my stomach. This was a weak stance, something I would never have done around my team—they were already always looking for a reason to jump all over me—but Bow didn’t seem like he was ready to make fun of me. “It’s Kyle.”

“But what’s your last name?” he pressed. “What queendom are you from?” He stood and moved toward the containment field. I swallowed hard. He was so much taller than me that I had to look up to keep eye contact with him and his shoulders were strong and wide. His jaw was long and masculine, but not tight and upset and mean the way most people around here were. He was in a damned holding cell and seemed more at ease than I was in my own bunk, that was when I'd earned the right to sleep in it. Most of the time I was curled up on the floor somewhere. I was instantly awed and a little jealous.

“You must be a great soldier,” I whispered. His eyebrows flew up and a slow smile spread across his face, but I was sure I had been too quiet for him to hear, so I cleared my throat and said. “I’m a Horde Officer.” Okay, that was sort of a lie, but he didn’t need to know I couldn’t finish my training. “We were chosen from birth for our abilities to become officers and great leaders. We have no last names. Our families were so loyal to the Horde that they dedicated us to Lord Hordak. I am Horde.”

Bow shook his head slowly. “No one in Etheria is dedicated to the Horde. Well, okay, a couple royal families who were scared jumped on board, but….” He frowned and stepped closer to the containment field. While he stared at me, he furrowed his brows. “You remind me a lot of someone I know,” he mumbled and looked down my body. "Do you like flowers?" I flushed at the slow perusal and strange question. I did like flowers the few times I'd seen them, but how could he possibly know that? They were beautiful, but not something the Horde valued. The heat already fluttering in my belly went into meltdown, a bomb going of in my stomach that came alive like some sort of wiggly, happy thing had me gasping as something that only ever happened when I was curled up alone at night, stirred in my groin. I knew I wasn’t supposed to like that feeling, all of my attention was supposed to be on my work, but right now I couldn’t help how good I felt. I bit my tongue and tried to ignore the excited, achy sensation.

“Um,” I said, voice going painfully high. “I really wanted to give you your rations and then I have to go. I have to—to train. Or something.” I smacked my hand onto the side of my face. _Nuts and bolts_ , could I sound any dumber?

“Listen, Kyle, my friends are being held hostage here by Hordak and Shadow Weaver. He’s going to kill them. I have to help. They’re good people.”

Biting the inside of my lip, I looked around. Bow seemed so nice, so sincere, and he’d asked about me. No on ever did that. The warm feeling in my stomach and the lightness in my chest that just this one small conversation had caused made me want to help him, but that was batshit crazy. We'd all been warned about how insidious the enemy could be. He smiled wider and I realized how much I wanted that to keep happening.

“I wasn't lying. I’ll be killed,” I whispered. “I can’t. I can’t even pass officer training to go out into the field.” I hung my head, my cheeks burning, this time with shame. All the good feelings in my stomach fled. If this amazing soldier for the princesses knew how useless I was, he probably wouldn’t be treating me like I was someone worth talking to, like Catra or Adora. There was a respect among greatness I'd witnessed once or twice, in the way that Shadow Weaver loved Adora, and hated everyone else, and the way even Hordak would get excited when he spoke about crushing a strong enemy. It was better to just get the truth about who I am out of the way so Bow could ignore me when I brought him rations from now on.

He didn’t laugh. He didn’t call me names. Instead he shuffled closer until his boots bumped the containment field and then he let out a little hiss and flinched back. “Kyle, I… this may sound wild, but hang with me here. If you let me out this prison, I’ll protect you. I’ll take you with me back to Bright Moon.” He smiled and the heat in my belly was back.

“To torture me?” I asked glumly. Yeah, that seemed about right.

“No.” He actually chuckled again, and my head felt dizzy from the way he was just so freakin’ happy. I’d never laughed so much, probably in my whole life. “Adora is one of my best friends, and she sometimes talks about the people here. You were friends with her, right?”

Stunned, I glanced up. He was friends with Force Captain Adora? “A-Adora called me her… friend?”

Bow shrugged. “She didn’t use those words, exactly, but she sounded very fond of you. She saw what happens beyond these walls and decided to join the rebellion. You trust her judgement, don’t you?”

He paused and gave me a soft, friendly look that had my cheeks hot again. I nodded.

“I’m good friends with her. You’ve all been lied to. She can explain it better, probably, in ways you’ll understand. I’ll keep you safe once we’re out of here, if you let me out. I swear on my honor.” He stood up tall—I couldn’t got over how much bigger than me he was, or how much it made the tingles in my stomach worse to think about it—and he held his hand like he was waiting for me to do something with it. Oh, I wanted to touch him. My fingers twitched. Could I really do this?

“The princesses are monsters,” I said again, but I didn’t sound so sure, even to myself. He seemed nice, and he worked with the princesses. “They hurt people.”

“Do you really find it so hard to believe that you were lied to by Shadow Weaver? And Hordak? From what I understand, all they do is put you guys down.” Bow frowned and then smiled, the shift so rapid fire it left me dizzy. “I’m serious, though. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of once we leave here. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise. You remind me of Adora when we first met her.”

“How? She’s an amazing soldier! The best in our class. She was even Force Captain. I’m nothing like her.” Slouching, my good mood crashed.

“You’re kind,” he said, nodding toward the tray I’d set aside. “And you’re actually talking to me, not taunting me or trying to screw with my head or promising me things you can’t deliver to get me to talk.”

“Maybe I’m just the Good Guard. Haven’t you ever heard of Good Guard, Bad Guard?” I asked, annoyed, again, at always being the weakest. “Kindess is the ultimate weakness in the war against the princesses and their tyranny,” I said.

Bow rested his hand on the doorjamb and leaned his face so close to the forcefield I held my breath and waved my hands. “Don't! You’re going to get zapped if you touch it with your skin. Be careful!” A slow smile spread across his face.

“Stop the barrier.” The low command shivered down my spine and I held my breath. My hand shook. Everything in me wanted to listen, especially when he spoke like that. Following commands felt good, deep down, for me, and this was one I wanted to carry out. The code on the keypad was easy. It was just 1234. I had to enter it twice before I got it right, my hand shook so bad. The forcefield went down and he stepped out.

I nearly swallowed my tongue and tensed, screwing up my eyes to brace for the pain from his punch when his hand shot out in front of him. Nothing happened, and I opened my eyes one at a time. He simply stood there with his hand shoved toward me. I stared at his long, strong looking fingers until they wiggled. He let out a warm little chuckle that had me easing closer to him.

“It’s called a handshake. I promised to keep you safe, can you promise to try to keep an open mind? Let me help you?” His smile was _everything_. I couldn’t look away from it. Absolutely mesmerizing. I’d never seen anyone so at ease in my life. And I had been right about his eyes. They were dark and mysterious, and they caught the greenish light that illuminated The Drop so that they almost sparkled with his good mood.

I held out my hand in front of me. “Now what?” I asked. “How does a handshake work?” His smile reached his eyes, crinkling the corners just a tiny bit, and he clasped his hand to mine.

My entire body froze up and heat blazed directly to my stomach. All the air in my lungs fled at once, and he wrapped his other hand over the top of mine so that it was completely surrounded by him. He moved our hands up at down. I was shocked. His skin was warm and calloused, the soft, gentle touch was amazing, and I never wanted him to stop. For some horrible reason tears stung the corners of my eyes, and that was absolutely unacceptable. I blinked them back andI swayed toward him. He dropped his hold to brace my shoulders and keep me upright. Was this why we weren’t supposed to touch each other outside of training? I definitely felt knocked for a loop.

“Kyle, you made a good choice. I don’t think you belong in the Fright Zone.” Bow stepped closer and leaned down to study my face. My cheeks flashed hot and I found myself looking at the floor between our feet.

“I don’t know where I belong. I’ve never really been anymore else. This is my home.”

An alarm sounded and we looked up. A transport skiff was free falling in The Drop and an amazing, glowing golden woman with a sword fought fast and furious with two soldiers at once. There was barely enough room for all of them on the skiff, but they danced and parried and thrust with an amazing amount of dexterity. I held my breath in awe as I realized I was seeing Horde training in action, from all three. The woman fought with the same moves I’d been working on just this morning. Bow pulled me behind him and the skiff plunged past us. The wind pulled at me and ruffled my short hair. I gaped. If Bow hadn’t moved me, I probably would have gotten caught in the draft and knocked over the edge. I shivered violently. _My worst nightmare._

“I hate heights. Nuts and fricken’ bolts, I hate heights. You saved me,” I squeaked.

He grinned over his shoulder. “Come on. You’re going to help me save a princess.” He took my hand in his strong, warm one and that heat blazed alive in my stomach again, but then he set off across the bridge. I followed while I shivered and had trouble breathing. Sweat broke out on my forehead when I made the mistake of looking down. Bow slowed.

“What’s wrong? Second thoughts?”

I shook my head. “We’re walking too fast. I… I….” The skiff raced back up toward the top of The Drop again. Wind dragged at us and I felt sick to my stomach. The battle between the woman and the soldiers still raged. One flew off. I winced and hoped it wasn’t anyone I knew. I gestured toward the way too close edge of the narrow bridge. Bow turned and carefully maneuvered me in front of him. It was obvious the height was having no effect on him, and again, I was jealous. He still rushed me when we started forward again, but he had his sturdy hands on my waist and kept me tucked close to his chest. I felt better almost at once, and it was so much easier to cross the expanse. My heart hammered so hard I could hear it in my ears when we got back to the safety of the hallway on the other side. The door was close, they were timed to close automatically after ten seconds, so of course it hadn't stayed open. I put in my code to let us into the main compounds. The door parted for us.

“No going back now,” I mumbled to myself. "I'm officially trusting you." Bow squeezed his hands on my waist and I could feel his body heat all along my back. The rush of tingles everywhere he touched me had me biting at the inside of my cheek again.

“You’re going to be just fine,” he leaned down to say in my ear and then took off around me running. He snagged my hand, and I had to run after him, or fall. “Keep up,” he called over his shoulder. My heart lurched and I raced after him.


	2. New Friends, New Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bow doesn't know what to do, so he goes home, and of course, takes Kyle with him.

Chapter 2: New Friends, New Problems 

_Bow Westfield—Rebellion Soldier, Inventor, Historian_

There was an explosion in the Horde compound behind us. The staggering city of iron and steel that was so unnatural rocked with it. Shouts went up. Random shots were fired in our direction but we were speeding along so fast, it didn’t matter. Glimmer, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Adora, Kyle and me stared back at the expanding explosions and chaos. Adora even turned around so far that I worried about her piloting, but she had a steady hand on the controls. Her long blonde hair blew into her face and she scraped it out of her eyes with her hand. The open-aired battle skiff we were on rocked side to side with the shockwave when another, larger explosion sounded off. Wind clawed at my face and made it harder to take a deep breath. Kyle huddled on the floor of the skiff, and he gabbed my ankle. Seahawk almost toppled over the side and Mermista grabbed him, steadying him on his feet. Kyle clung to me. I couldn’t feel his touch through my boot, but I reached down and rested a steadying hand on the top of his head. He stilled like I'd yelled at him. 

“Entrapta didn’t make it,” Mermista said. She really sounded like she didn’t care, but I knew that couldn’t be the case. Adora and I shared a look, and I shot a quick glance at Glimmer, but she was on the floor on my other side, eyes closed with what seemed like pain. I felt terrible. I’d liked Entrapta. We both built things, and sure her things were super amazing and mine were much more mundane, but I’d loved seeing her work, and she was a happy person, in spite of the fact that she hadn’t seemed to understand how to really talk to other people. 

I glanced down at Kyle when he shuffled closer to my leg. A burst of happiness smashed through my grief. We’d gotten another good one out, and I could just tell he was every bit as special as Adora. Something about him made me want to be closer with him, talk to him, make him happy. It was a strange feeling, but I went with it. 

Kyle’s white Horde uniform shirt was splotched and dirty with soot, and his creamy pale cheeks were smeared with dirt. His pretty blond hair blew in the wind, a purer gold than Adora’s. I patted his head again and let myself enjoy the softness of his hair. He glanced up and his lips twitched, like maybe he wanted to smile, but didn’t know how. My heart twisted for him. I’d help him learn that it was safe to be himself. He seemed even more subdued than Adora had ben when we liberated her. I got my bow out and ready, an arrow notched, and widened my stance so that I could get off a good shot if I needed to. The dead ground near the Fright Zone compound gave way to long, green grass around us. The destruction from our escape seemed to keep the Horde form following after us, and I was grateful. I felt fine, but it was clear everyone else was wiped out. 

Adora piloted us toward the Whsipering Woods with tears glistening on her cheeks, and again I mourned Entrapta while keeping watch. We’d lost so many people, I didn’t think it hurt me as much as it should. 

“Who was Entrapta?” Kyle asked quietly, frowning up at me. 

“She was—” 

“Why is the Horde scum here, again?” Mermista asked in that bored tone of hers that I’d slowly started realizing was her way of dealing with stress. She glared at Kyle from where she leaned against the edge of the skiff next to one of the blaster barrels, and he hunched in on himself. Anger surprised me. Usually I took her attitude in stride, but I moved so that I blocked him from her view, as much as I could. He was already scared and upset, he didn’t need her crap. 

“Don’t worry. He’s on our side now.” 

Mermista rolled her eyes and I wanted to use her long, black braid to yank her from where she stood into a punch to the face. The thought surprised me. I didn’t think about hurting my friends, but she was being terrible. She sighed. “About that—” 

“I’ll talk to Kyle,” Adora said firmly. “Bow made a good decision in pulling him out. He would have died in the Fright Zone, eventually. I might have done the same thing.” She smiled over her shoulder at me and, relieved, I grinned back. 

“Thanks,” Kyle said softly, but he didn’t sound happy. Out here in the sunlight he looked nearly sickly, even if I couldn’t stop looking at him. His skin was pale and his golden hair seemed like a flower starved for sunshine. He kept turning to face the sunlight when Adora piloted the skiff a different direction to avoid obstructions in the terrain. Everything about him reminded me of Perfuma and her people. I could see him wrapped in soft cloth, the tunics that her people preferred with togas overtop. They had a different name for the skirts, but I racked my brain and couldn’t remember what they called it. They would show off the strong thighs I could see under his tight pants. I stilled and found myself having trouble swallowing when I realized I would _very much_ like to see Kyle that way.

Glimmer moaned and closed her eyes, and I lost track of that thought. I squatted down beside her. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home and you can recharge. The Moonstone will do its job, and you’ll feel better soon.” I gave her a small hug and she nodded with a forced smile.

“You’re right. All I need is rest. I’m so depleted. I used so much energy and the Black Garnet,” she shuddered. “The power there is just wrong, for me at least.”

Mermista grunted and pointed at Kyle. Right now I kind of hated her a little bit. “But what are we going to do with him? I actually have a prison in my palace, unlike all you other hippy dippy lovelies. I’ll take him there.” 

Kyle gasped from his spot beside me, and I swung around to meet his eyes. We were close enough that I could smell him, musky and an herbal sweetness that I’d not had time to realize was coming from him while we were escaping. The look of betrayal on his face about gutted me. I wasn’t sure why, but there was something soft and sweet about him that made me want to see him smile, not that this was a good time for something like that. He looked so hurt that I wanted to hug him, but we didn’t know each other well.

“He’s coming with me wherever I go. To Bright Moon, I guess. No one’s putting Kyle in prison.” I flipped my arrow in my fingers and pointed it at Mermista. Her eyebrows rose in what passed for shock with her. 

“What?” Adora asked, turning away from where she was piloting the vessel. She snorted in that unattractive way she sometimes had that reminded me she definitely grew up around mostly guys and soldiers. “Even if you did think Kyle was dangerous, trust me, there’s no reason to put Kyle in lock-up.” She shared a mean smirk with Mermista that had me ready to yell at both of them. Why were they being this way? Adora, of all people, knew what it was like to be liberated from the Horde. This wasn’t what I’d hoped I’d get from her by way of support. 

“Hey!” Kyle yelped and frowned at her. She met his eye, and he flushed. “Well, that’s just not nice. I’m dangerous.”

She pursed her lips. “Sure you are.”

“Adora!” I yelled, trying to get her to stop. She could be as bad as Glimmer when she was on a roll. She blinked at me and turned back around to look ahead of us again, but didn’t apologize.

“Well, he isn’t,” she muttered. 

I chose to let her crap go. Maybe she’d figure out for herself she was being a jerk. “Anyway, I promised Kyle my protection. I swore to it.” 

At that Glimmer opened her eyes and scowled. Her purple gaze gleamed accusingly at me, but I refused to feel bad about it. I’d don’t he right thing. “You what?” 

“I swore an oath to protect him.” I smiled at Kyle, but he was back to being shy, glancing out of the skiff toward the first of the trees from the Whispering Woods. His cheeks were magenta and even though I knew he was uncomfortable, my chest felt light and happy seeing him look that way.

“Why on Etheria would you do that? You know there’s magic in those sorts of vows.” Glimmer smacked my arm, but she barely had enough strength to make it sting. 

“I can’t do magic,” I reminded her with a chuckle. 

She shook her head and her eyes slipped close, but she was smiling. “Bow, you’re too good hearted. That’s why you’re my best friend. Obviously you don’t get it. There really is magic in words. Maybe not the kind of magic that will hurt or save someone like my powers, but it’s a subtle magic. It plucks at your destiny if you break a promise like that.” 

“Then I better keep my word, huh?” 

She scowled, but didn’t open her eyes, instead laid down the rest of the way on the floor of the skiff and used my thigh as a pillow. “He’s a horde member.”

“So was Adora,” I pointed out. Her frown only deepened.” 

Glimmer and I sometimes didn’t get along, and this was apparently going to be one of those times. She sometimes was very black and white in her thinking, and she’d had it out for Adora at first, too. I just hoped her better nature pulled through again, because if she decided she hated someone, that was usually the end of it. I didn’t want that here. Kyle seemed very friendly, if scared and programmed by the Horde. If he could lose some of the propaganda, realize we were the ones on the side of right, I knew he would fit in with us just fine. 

“Glimmer, he’s not like the other Horde.” 

“Can you stop talking about how bad I am at my job,” Kyle said glumly. 

Glimmer blinked her eyes open and actually sat up and turned to glare at him. “Just keep your new friend,” she bit that word off in a nasty way that pissed me off, “over there.” 

I did one better, and shoved her off me and slid over to sit down between them, with an arm around each of them. Glimmer leaned her forehead against my shoulder and Kyle stiffened. I hadn’t asked him if I could touch him, and I was getting ready to apologize because he was obviously uncomfortable, when he sort of melted and curled up against my side, bringing his knees to rest together against my thigh. He was so small that he fit just right there, and I was shocked at the warm satisfaction that pooled in my gut. He tentatively rested his head on my shoulder, too, and took a deep breath of the fresh air.

“It’s so different out here, and _bright_.” He glanced around and even shielded his eyes to look up at the sun. Glimmer was a familiar, friendly weight against me, even if I was mad at her, but Kyle was all sleek muscle and actually seemed too thin. Even at that, I became keenly aware of every spot he leaned against me. The skiff juddered, and his hand flew out to steady himself on my thigh. The touch, slightly intimate, had me glancing at his face. His eyes were big and scared and blue, like he was worried I would be mad at him for saving himself from smacking his face on the floor of the skiff, and I wanted to say something to make him comfortable, but his pretty pink lips caught and held my attention. 

_So soft looking._

That thought brought me up short. He gave me a shy smile and moved his hand away, and he went back to staring around as we entered the Whispering Woods. Large tree branches shaded the sunlight on the path Adora had chosen, and he seemed more comfortable with that than he had while we were out in the open, settling down against my side with a tired groan. The sound, just a little rough, had me swallowing hard.

I had five brothers and seven sisters, and I was the youngest. None of them were gay like our Dads, and I’d always assumed maybe someday my feelings for Glimmer would deepen, but I’d never thought like that about her like anything more than a sister. Sure, I liked her more than my actual sisters, but I’d never thought about her lips and how shiny her hair was in the sunshine, not the way I couldn’t stop looking at Kyle and how… _pretty_ he was, even if he did seem like he needed to be brought back to health after a lifetime in the Fright Zone. 

_Shit, am I seriously thinking about this right now?_ I side-eyed Glimmer. I still thought she was attractive. I liked looking at her. But when I glanced back at Kyle I felt… hotter, all over. And I thought about how I might want to taste his lips. Some of his sweet, musky, masculine scent wafted to me, and I wanted to search that out on his body, and taste where it was coming from, too. I stared up at the branches whipping by overhead and shook my head at myself as my face heated. How could this be a shock to me, of all people? How had I never wondered why, before now, I didn’t want to sneak off with Glimmer the way I’d seen all my brothers and sisters want to do with their significant others? I’d just assumed some day my best friend would become my girlfriend. I licked my lips. 

“Don’t be mad at me, Glimmer,” I turned to whisper into her ear. She sat back and eyed me up, tired as she was, she knew something was up. 

“For what?” 

“For this.” I jerked my head in the direction of Kyle and tugged him a little closer. He let out a small sound that was close to a squeak, but got more comfortable against me. Glimmer’s lips twitched.

“Oh, dang it, Bow,” she said with a sigh. She blinked up at me. We shared a look, one we’d shared a thousand times since we became friends, and I thought maybe I didn’t have to even explain myself. She patted my chest and something like hurt passed across her face before she smiled more brightly in my direction. 

“Oh, where’s Perfuma,” I asked, suddenly realizing she should have been here, and she was actually someone I wanted to meet Kyle. The more I thought, the more I remembered stories of the Forest Watchers, and the things they’d done in the first princess rebellion. It wasn’t beyond possibility that the Horde had taken one of their children. She would know for sure, I think, if he was one of theirs.

Adora called to me from where she was driving, “She took off as soon as we got out of the Horde compound. She said she wanted to go back to her people instead of to Bright Moon because they had new Horde activity near her Queendom. Why?” 

“Doesn’t Kyle look like one of her people?”

Kyle started and turned toward me. “What?” 

Glimmer leaned forward and looked him over. “Yeah, I could see it.” She sat back surprised. “You left the Forest Watchers to become Horde?” she furrowed her brow. “I thought they were peaceful?” 

Kyle’s face fell and he nestled closer to me. I didn’t miss the way his body went taut as a bow string when her attention was aimed directly at him again. “Shh,” I found myself rubbing a hand along his back, and he burrowed even closer, to me. 

I let go of Glimmer to rearrange us and ended up with him curled up and shaking in my arms. I had my legs on either sigh of him and he had drawn his up to his chest. He buried his face against my collarbone, and I couldn’t help myself. I wrapped him up in my arms and hugged him close while he shuddered, clawing at my shirt until he had handfuls of it. 

“I don’t have people or family. I was given to the Horde,” he whispered. 

“It’s okay,” I said and continued to rub his back in what I hoped was a comforting way. “We’re all exhausted. You don’t have to worry about that right now.” 

Glimmer grunted and sagged against me. “Okay. Okay. Okay. Let’s just back to Bright Moon.” The way she looked at Kyle, though, I didn’t really enjoy that idea. I knew Angella wouldn’t leave him alone, either, and I wasn’t sure they’d let me stay by his side. I knew one place I could take him that no one would do anything to Kyle, and honestly, I didn’t think he had much more information that Adora did. Maybe less. It didn’t seem like he was in any sort of command position with the Horde. Not even Glimmer would know where to find him, there. I felt bad about that, but right about now I was glad I still had some secrets from her.

We rode for a while and I held Kyle, but he only shivered, and I realized after a while that he was sobbing, silently, as I held him. I rested my chin on the top of his head and held on, waiting for him to calm but that didn’t happen. Eventually, I recognized the trees where we were. Glimmer’s eyes were closed, and she seemed like she might be asleep. Her breaths were deep and even. Now or never. “Adora, can you stop? I want to get off.” Mermista glanced at me in surprise. She’d taken up a spot next to Adora and was, I think, learning how to drive the battle skiff. Adora swung around toward me mouth open in confusion.

“Out here? In the middle of nowhere?” 

“Do you really think that I should take Kyle into Bright Moon right now?” She glanced at us, and the way he was curled into as much of a ball as possible, and grimaced. 

“They’ll want to interrogate him. Only being She-Ra saved me from that, and they still had me in the War room for hours once they got organized. It was rough. He may not be up for it.” She gave him a crappy look I didn’t like, one that said he was weak, and I was starting to realize why he felt the way he did. Even Adora, who I loved as a friend, wasn’t really nice to him. Why?

“That’s what I was thinking. He needs rest.”

She smirked like she had a funny joke and my blood ran cold. Every now and then some of her former life peeked through, and I never enjoyed it when that happened. “You have no idea what Kyle was being prepared for, do you? He didn’t, so I doubt you would.”

“No?” She reminded me unpleasantly of Catra right now.

Adora sighed and shook her head. Her long blond hair caught some of the sunlight and glittered, and she looked a little more like She-Ra.

“Obviously not to become a general,” Mermista said over the wind, glancing at her fingernails. 

“Hordak wanted offspring.” She wrinkled her nose. “Catra and I weren’t suitable, Shadow Weaver said, because Hordak needed someone who would get pregnant on the first try because he didn’t like mixing with lower life forms.” She snorted and laughed at that. “I tried to keep Kyle off the radar as much as possible because he wasn’t there to become a soldier the way that Catra and I were. Shadow Weaver told me fairly early on he was only being trained to fight so he could protect… well, because he came from… oh, I hadn’t thought of this in so long.” She actually paled, something I don’t think I’d ever seen happen to someone in real life. Suddenly she was my friend Adora, again, concerned and kind. “She told me he was from a fertile people.” I stilled. Perfuma’s Forest Watchers sure were that. They had more babies than any other people we’d visited. “When Hordak was ready for him, he was going to be, uh… I guess he has the ability to carry children.”

Kyle went stock still in my arms and moaned, low, nothing anyone else would hear, and peeked up at me. I’d thought he was asleep. I wanted to tell Adora to save the rest of this for later, but she was already talking again. 

“Kyle’s male, though, and I never gave it a lot of thought. Usually the weaker soldiers end up….” She bared her teeth, upset. “Do you really want to hear this?” 

My stomach heaved and I hauled Kyle closer. He was obviously awake by the way he clung tighter to me and he shivered in my hold. Would he tell me this later? My curiosity won out. “Yeah.” All I could think about was my Dad, the one I looked most like, Lance. He was an omega. They were really rare in all the races, but they existed. He was all man, for sure, but he still had the ability to conceive. I was proof number thirteen to that. He and my other Dad George loved kids.

“Usually the weaker soldiers were used for the pleasure of the stronger ones. I stayed away from all that and told my team it was a distraction, Catra agreed, but on some of the other teams it was really unpleasant for the weakest members. I don’t think that Kyle knew what was going on in the other teams, but in our team it went beyond protecting him for the sake of team unity. Catra and I had to keep him totally away from anyone else because he was meant for Hordak, eventually. Hordak wanted someone to pass on the world to, I always thought, once it was conquered. I figured once we crushed the rebellion, Kyle would become Hordak’s consort.” She wiped at her cheeks with her arm, and I realized she was tearing up. “I thought it was an honor for him, and an honor for me to be the one to help train and protect him.”

Kyle gasped and spun in my arms to look at her. His face was red and furious. “Wait, what? You… you knew this? It sounds like, for years?”

She nodded, but it was clear she wasn’t happy about it.

He shivered and shuddered. “I want off. Stop the transport.” He actually yelled, and Glimmer snorted beside us, but didn’t wake. She was really fried from using so much power.

“Whoa there, that’s fine. I asked her to stop anyway.”

He turned hurt blue eyes on Adora and she slowed the skiff way down to almost a crawl so she could look at him. She shrugged and he flinched. “Adora, I can’t believe you. You were fine with that? Could you imagine Hordak….” Kyle’s skin actually took on a green tint.

“Well, now I’m not, but at the time I thought it was privilege for you, and since you can’t fight worth a damn, I thought it was lucky, too. Another honor for me to be trusted with you.” She shrugged. “They wanted you to be able to protect yourself and the baby.”

Kyle barely made it off the battle skiff before he was over the edge and on his knees, dry heaving into the grass. “Hordak? Nuts and bolts, how disgusting.” He hunched over and his forehead touched the grass. It seemed to reach out and cradle him. “A few things make more sense, now.” He shook his head hard and dry heaved again, but it seemed like there was nothing in his stomach to come up. When was the last time he’d eaten? I laid Glimmer gently on her side. She was really asleep now. I jumped down easily and crouched beside him.

“Go ahead to Bright Moon,” I said, “and get Glimmer home.”

Adora seemed torn. She took a step toward us, but I shook my head. Mermista only stared at us like we were an interesting play going on for her amusement. That rankled. “Go, Adora. I have a safe place to take him.”

Emotions played across Adora’s face and landed on concerned. “Are you sure? Hordak actually might mount a search for him.”

At the name, Kyle heaved again. 

Real anger swept through me and I took an arrow out of my quiver to hold. It made me feel a little better. “Yeah, I’m sure, just get her back. I’ll figure out what we’re doing and be along in a day or two. Count me in on any plans to go back and sweep the area for Entrapta’s remains.” 

Adora studied Kyle and I wanted to get between them, but she knew him better than I did. “Will you bring him?” 

“We’ll see. I’m not sure what we’re doing. He’s going to be safe. That’s all I know. Whether it’s in Bright Moon or….”

Adora flushed. “Old habits die hard, I guess. I’m used to… telling him what to do. I’m sorry, Kyle, for what that’s worth.” 

He nodded, but didn’t look up from the grass. I crouched closer beside him. She stayed there on the skiff for another few minutes, but finally sped away with Glimmer, Mermista, and an oddly subdued Seahawk who thankfully had stayed out of the conversation. I breathed out a sigh of relief. We were probably only about a mile away from where my parents had their home hidden, which was actually mostly a library and museum dedicated to the First Ones rather than a real residence. They’d raised thirteen of us there, though, and I knew there would be a lot of supplies we might be able to go through to find something for him Kyle to wear, if nothing else. No reason to parade him into Bright Moon in Hoarde colors. I didn’t stop to think too much on why I was so pleased to think of him wearing the heart that was part of the Westfield family crest. My dads wouldn’t be expecting me, and I’d have more than a few things to explain showing up this way, and with someone they’d never met before.

My stomach sank. They would have a fit, but what else could I do? Kyle tugged at the part of me that wanted to keep people safe, and there was no way he’d do well during an interrogation by Angella right now, and I wasn’t sure what I might do if she wanted to put him in Mermista’s prison. 

It wasn’t going to fucking happen, and I might get tossed out of the inner circle of the rebellion with the things that would come out of my mouth if they tried to take him from me.

And besides, that ‘fertile people’ stuff had me more convinced than ever that he might belong to Perfuma’s queendom. That was unsettling for another reason. I’d promised to keep him safe. He glanced over his shoulder at me with scared, watery blue eyes. The tears caught the sunlight and lit his eyes up like gems, stealing my breath. 

“Yeah, okay. I obviously am not feeling letting you go right now. Looks like I’ll just have to face some of the music,” I said. 

He furrowed his brows, obviously confused. “Bow? What are you talking about?”

“Never mind.” I helped him sit up. “That was a shock, huh? Adora doesn’t get that everyone doesn’t handle things the way she does. Like, people have feelings.” I tried to smile at him, but wasn’t sure I succeeded. 

He actually seemed to brighten up a bit. “She’s so strong and good that way. She doesn’t have the wrong sorts of feelings. She craves victory and success. She’s a perfect soldier.” He sounded so proud of her and I was too, but it showed a lack of awareness for a lot of things in life. Hopefully I could teach him that there was more to this battle than victory. We were only fighting to protect our families and friends.

Concern had me taking his hand again. It was far too easy to do that with him, and his cheeks flushed that pretty neon pink they had when we shook hands in the Fright Zone. A flowery scent that made me feel warm all over drifted between us, like vanilla and sunshine rolled into one, and I found myself sliding closer to him across the ground. 

“You’re allowed to feel things.”

He shook his head.

“I’m scared right now.”

He looked at me so fast I worried he might get whiplash. “Why?” 

I brushed his blond hair back from his forehead and he leaned into the touch. He seemed starved for affection and my chest ached. I brushed my fingers along his face and he leaned into that touch. Was it wrong that I enjoyed the way he seemed like he couldn’t stop himself? “My parents think I’m at Bright Moon working as an apprentice to the Royal Historian.” 

“Won’t they be proud, then, that you’re out here fighting? Doing so much more?”

My heart squeezed, and I laughed before I drew his hand up pressed a kiss to his knuckles. He made me so giddy with the way he was so innocent about everything, and so awed by what my self-training had produced. I wasn’t even that great, all things considered, but he acted like I was the same as She-Ra. It was a wild rush. Surprised, I realized that I was aroused sitting here with him, even though we’d been having a terrible conversation. Again, what was wrong with me? I felt good, though, and my heart nearly stopped. He smiled at me. The transformation in his face was so beautiful. His eyes were brighter and to see him happy? I never wanted him to look any other way.

“No. My parents value education and learning.” 

He seemed to think about that for a moment and nodded. “Strategy is important in battle, but I’m sure they’ll be proud.” He stifled a jaw cracking yawn. I felt battle weary, but he looked like he hadn’t slept in years. He’d looked that way even before he let me out of the prison cell earlier.

I chuckled and helped him stand. “You’ll see. We’re going to their home. My home.” 

Obvious worry had him nibbling the corner of his bottom lip as he stood, and I wanted to put him at ease, but I had no idea how to do that. “They’ll be kind to you, even if they yell at me.”

“They won’t hurt you, will they?” He scowled. “I won’t let that happen.” 

I put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a half hug. He stumbled and leaned against me and next thing I knew I had him in an embrace, gathered close. He huddled against me and I’d never felt stronger in my life. 

“No one ever told me how good this feels,” he said with a sigh, and my heart nearly broke. I liked touching him because he was so pretty, and yeah it was nice to hug, but no one ever held him before? Could he even know right now if he liked me at all if that were the case? 

Yeah, I should keep my confusion to myself, and probably just focus on getting him help. It wasn’t right to take advantage of him. He had a lot of things going on right now, and maybe the least of it was that Hordak had intended to breed him.

I sucked in a deep breath and got another whiff of his light, enticing personal scent. I thought about how someone would get a baby in his belly—lovemaking, which I’d only ever read about and thought about while I pleasured myself—and almost groaned out loud. My cock woke and plumped up, and I squeezed my eyes closed against the rush of excitement that slammed into my gut. Okay, no more thoughts like that, especially before I took a boy I barely knew, but had sworn to protect, to meet my Dads and see if they would… what? Let us stay there together for a while?

This was getting complicated quickly.

“Can you walk?” Kyle nodded, but he showed no signs of moving and yawned again. I made sure my bow and quiver were secure on my back and scooped him up.

He yelped and clung to my shoulders, and I liked the way his eyes were wide, but he had a small smile on his lips again. “I’m not injured,” he protested, but he leaned his head on my chest and nestled close to me. My _problem_ would not go away like this, but he hadn’t noticed and the work of moving him would make that die down, I hoped. 

“I don’t mind this,” I murmured against the top of his head and refused to kiss it, though I wanted to. I carried him and walked, and by the time we reached the large, familiar cream stucco and wood manor I’d grown up in, he was fast asleep in my arms. I stood on the lawn near the front door and debated what I should do. My dads thought I was attending a boarding school and fulfilling in apprenticeship, which I sort of was doing that last thing in between fighting. They would not be happy to see me here when they thought the term was in session, and I had zero idea what they would do with me carrying home a Horde soldier, hell, a Horde officer—Kyle had an officer’s pin on his collar, even if he claimed he wasn’t one. Not to mention there was no way for me to hide my weapons. I needed them right now to protect him if things went wrong and we’d been followed.

It turned out, I didn’t have to wonder what to do much longer because the front door flew open. Lance, the dad I took after most, raced outside. I was almost as tall as him now. He’d let his beard grow out, and his dreads were longer than last time I saw him, gathered at the nape of his neck with a beaded thong. With a pang, I realized it hadn’t been home since the winter solstice, about six months ago. The battles had been nonstop. 

“Bow, my boy, what on Etheria… what in the world?” he slowed on his approach, and I instinctively stepped back, cradling Kyle closer. He stopped still. “Bow? What are you doing here and who is that?” He didn’t sound upset, at least, but his brow was already furrowed and I could see him adding one and one up to get a hundred. He was really good at that, and it was so hard to hide anything form him. I’d had to become really tight-lipped before I left for my fake boarding school to pull off that coup, but now I needed to come clean. I needed help. 

“I….” Screw it. I kissed the soft hair on the top of his head, musty with the smell of soot from the fight. “He’s mine, and I need somewhere for him to get better,” I said in a rush. That wasn’t exactly what I’d wanted to say, but I didn’t know _what_ to call Kyle, so it would do. I’d sworn to protect him, so what else could he be, other than mine? 

Lance’s brow furrowed and he planted his hands on his hips. “Why do you have weapons, Bow?”

I decided to ignore that. He probably already had a good guess anyway from the glare I was getting. “He’s not doing well. I think he’s an omega, like you, and I think…. It’s a long story.” 

Lance’s face softened and he shuffled closer. I couldn’t stop myself from tensing. I trusted my dad, obviously, but everything in me made me want to take Kyle and move away from him because I still felt like dad was angry, and angry meant danger… adrenaline pumped through my veins and had me breathing hard. “Is he hurt?” Lance asked.

“He’s exhausted. He’s been in the Fright Zone.” 

Lance stepped closer, and I loved my dad, I really did, but I found myself stepping back away from him. 

“Okay, son. Well, I guess we’re learning who got George's alpha instincts out of all our children.” He grinned, his eyes warm and bright, just like the ones I saw in the mirror every day, and he stopped walking toward us. “I have no idea what’s going on, and I’m… baffled, just baffled as to why you have weapons, yes, of course, we’ll help you and your…?” The question was clear in his voice. 

“He’s mine.” I said again. I wasn’t sure why I felt so certain about that, but I did. Kyle poked at my chest and I was surprised to see him awake. He worried at his bottom lip.

“I’m okay. Let me down.”

I sat him on his feet and it took him a second to look like he wasn’t going to fall over, so I put my arm around his waist. Lance covered his mouth, and I knew he was finally realizing that Kyle was a Horde soldier, but I glared right back at my dad. The uniform had given us away. There was nothing I could have done about it, though, except for show up with a naked man, and given the conversation Kyle and I had before I started walking, that would have gone over like a pile of bricks. 

“All right. Obviously this needs tea. And dinner. And… George is going to have a fit. How long have you been fighting?” He glared over the top of his glasses and I fidgeted, wanting badly to reach for one of my arrows or Kyle’s hand. 

“Three years now.”

Lance rested his hand over his eyes. “Make that an explosion. Your dad will be confetti. But your young man is safe here.” Dad dropped his hand and gave me a hard look. “He’s not yours, though, Bow. You need to think about the words coming out of your mouth very carefully right now. I suspect you don’t have an inkling about what is going on between you and this young man. He is an _omega_ and I suspect strongly that you’re reacting to that. Which is fine, but for his safety _with you_ I insist that you consider the implications fully. Or do we need to have _the talk_ again?”

“What do you mean? He promised to protect me, that’s all.” Kyle chipped in, but he’d gotten distracted by the rose bushes around the house. They were red and large, and he seemed totally hypnotized once he caught sight of them. His smile almost broke my heart. “Can I go look?” He didn’t ask dad, but seemed to be looking to me for direction, or permission. 

“Yeah,” I said to him. He set off unsteadily for them, and I wasn’t surprised when he sat down near the bushes and they seemed to lean toward him. Dad was shaken, though. 

“He has power. Who is he? No lies,” Lance said sharply. He spun back toward me, his long beige sweater billowing dramatically.

“Remember the Forest Watchers and how they lost a prince to the Horde?” My theory seemed a stretch when I said it out loud, that way, but Lance only nodded.

“Yes, we recorded that unfortunate loss into the rebellion logs when you were only a baby.” 

“I know. I read the whole log. That’s why I decided to go off and fight. I think… I mean, I’m not sure, but I have been thinking that he might be the prince the Forest Watchers lost.” I shrugged and felt a little helpless. 

Dad studied me in shock. “And he’s _yours_? You’d better revise how you refer to him. I seriously doubt that royals of the Forest Watchers will be pleased if you never turn him over.” 

I flushed. Had I really said that? “Uh… I mean….” 

Dad shook his head so fast it almost made my neck hurt. “Be careful, Bow. That’s all I’m saying. You know how bodies work, son, and I know what boys your age start thinking about. If he’s an omega, you could end up with more responsibility than you’re ready for. They might be really upset with you if he was promised in an alliance, not that most of those haven’t been broken over the years. You should—” 

I held up a hand and shook my head. “One talk was enough. I, fine, I hadn’t thought about much about him being an omega at all, and we haven’t, and I mean, we’re not… just oh my gods don’t, okay? He’s… I admit I am thinking about… we just met _today_ , okay.” 

My father laughed and patted my head the way he hadn’t since I was a really little boy. “Oh, Bow. I haven’t slept a night apart from your father since the day I met him.” He winked and gave me a look that I’d never gotten from him, something that I’d only seen him share with my grown up brothers before. “You brought him home, to your family, on the first day you met him, and you’re already calling him yours. I think you should speak with your other father before you set off again, whatever you decide to do.” 

My stomach sank and I could barely think. “If I take him to the Forest Watchers, what if they want to keep him?”

My father frowned again. “They may, but you’re forgetting one thing, son.” 

“What?”

“Your omega over there is a person. He needs to make these decisions, not you, no matter how you’re feeling at the moment. Our opinions frequently get lost when it comes to people discussing our safety.” His smile turned sad. “Now,” Dad said, ruffling my hair again until I shoved him off with a laugh. “Let’s get your new friend fed. He looks like he needs it. Welcome to the Library of the Whispering Wood,” my father called loudly and swept over toward Kyle. Moments later he had Kyle by the arm and was dragging him into the house I’d grown up in. I’d never been happier. 


	3. Confused and Comforted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyle struggles to find his footing in a brand new world, but Bow is there to keep him safe.

Kyle

_Former Horde Trainee and Lost Soldier_

“I’m Lance, and you’re safe here.” The man smiled down at me, but didn’t remove his hand from between my shoulder blades as he escorted me through the large building he’d ushered me inside. It was so bizarre and different from anything I’d seen. The ceilings were high enough that our voices echoed a bit. The support beams, furniture—nearly everything was made of wood, of all materials—and the steady hum of mechanical noises was missing. The room felt warm, however, in temperature and in mood. Here there was none of the heart pounding franticness that came with merely existing in the Horde Compound. The air carried a pleasant smokiness from a large hearth that heated the room with a crackling fire. We seemed to be leaving what was some sort of wide open planning area for perhaps a small platoon, with tables and chairs and walls full of what must be strategy codexes. Those were a lot of strategy books and maps. My mouth went dry. I’d only read about thirty in my life, and Bow’s, what had he called him, his father? He had scads. How little he would think of me remained to be seen. 

“What field of war are those books about?” I asked and glanced at the man quickly. Maybe if I was proactive, he wouldn’t quiz me. “Surely they’re not all about Mid Etheria?”

Lance came to a complete stop and his mouth dropped open. His full lips and happy mouth looked so much like Bow’s that I wasn’t completely upset by the way he was moving me around and touching me, and he smelled friendly, which was a weird thing to think, but he did, like something earthy, and sweet things. _Bow._ Frantically I glanced back over my shoulder and he was behind us, keeping watch. He smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. I liked that he hadn’t abandoned me. I nodded back at him.

“Most of these books are about the First Ones, actually.” Lance’s eyes shone with a brightness I’d only ever seen in the battle room and he dragged me to the nearest shelf. “I take it you’re at least versed in some study? You know how to read?” He frowned. 

“Um, I wasn’t as good as our squad leaders in hand-to-hand, so yes, I was guided more toward strategy and support roles.” I flushed. “But that’s only because our squad leaders were the all-around best. I would have been ranked higher on a different team.” My heart hammered and my face ran hot. I didn’t want these people to think I wasn’t worth their time, especially Bow, even though so far he hadn’t seemed to care much about my rank and standing in the Horde—maybe even the opposite. He actively fought the Horde. I had no idea what I should be doing. Bow seemed uncomfortable with talk of me fighting, and Lance, his father, also seemed like he wasn’t happy about me conversing about… well, my life.

Lance nodded but his frown deepened. “I wasn’t attempting to disparage you. You’re obviously very bright, especially if….” He glanced back toward Bow, who slid around at my side and read through the shelves, a finger tapping the spines of codexes.

“You’re looking for the first volume of the Etherian histories, aren’t you?” Bow asked in that bright, cheery tone of his.

Lance smiled and nodded. “I thought it might help for him to read it, rather than have us telling him everything.”

Bow grinned and my heart nearly stopped when he rested a hand on my shoulder. I had two people touching me, practically hugging me between them, and I felt ready to burst in a good way. Bow tickled his fingers up to the back of my neck and squeezed, and I sighed and leaned against his side, the feel of his strong, muscled body like a magnet I didn’t want to fight against. Finger resting on the shelf, he turned toward me and we got stuck staring for a few seconds. His smile became smaller, but somehow more intimate and he took a step closer to me. There wasn’t much more room between us.

“Found it,” Lance said. I hadn’t realized he’d moved his hand from me. He stood next to us clasping his book and he had a strange, though not unhappy, look etched onto his face when I turned toward him and took the book he held out. _Nuts and bolts, I feel like I’m in a mine field._

“Etherian Early History, Volume One,” I read out loud from the cover, and Lance beamed in my direction. “How many are there? And what kind of battles were there?” I glanced up and Lance had his lips pursed. 

“There have always been skirmishes somewhere on Etheria but nothing like now. The battles were over different things.” He shrugged. “These books are on what was, not war specifically. There’s far more to life than fighting, and I sincerely hope you’ll discover that.” He glanced at Bow, and I got the impression they were sharing some sort of knowledge with that look, but Bow only shrugged.

“Bring him to the kitchen, son. I’ll give you a few minutes.” Lance patted the top of my head before he left, which was weird, but didn’t hurt. He disappeared through a wide, arched doorway that the sun spilled out of into this room.

“Are you doing okay? Lance can be a lot.” Bow still held the back of my neck, his fingers strong and warm, though his grip wasn’t anything painful. In fact, the touch of his hand on me had warm flutters spiraling in my stomach. I shuffled around to face him again and he dropped his hold. I cradled the book to my chest and had trouble meeting his eyes. Instead, I stared at the heart on his shirt.

“Yes, I’m fine.” I smiled and forced myself to look up at him so he wouldn’t sense my weakness. “Are you?”

He laughed at that. “No. I’m going to get yelled at.”

That killed my good mood, quick. “No, you won’t. I won’t allow you to be dressed down when you’ve done nothing wrong.”

He smiled and swallowed so hard that his throat bobbed. “I’ve done some things I shouldn’t have, actually.” He drew me in closer, and I couldn’t stop looking at his eyes. They were so dark and expressive. His entire lifeforce seemed to live in his eyes. In the Horde, that sort of thing could get you killed. People developed a dead stare, and he was so different. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes and then he was moving closer. He slid his arms around my waist, and I shuffled closer by a step, drawn to him. His mouth was right there, and I stared, and I felt like I might pop from the way his lips twitched like he was going to smile even as he came closer to me. The inside of my belly was a rush of tickles and tingles. What was he doing? _Was he going to… surely he wasn’t going to…._

“Bow? Is that you? What the hell? Get away from my son.” The bark of a loud voice had me flinching and Bow moved battle quick, dragging me closer to him, so that I ended up crushed against his chest. I didn’t hate it, but the way he held me, I was forced to turn with him as he moved around to assess the threat, rather than be able to move and prepare for a fight. There was another man near us, someone dressed more like Bow in a long, beige shirt decorated with red stripes and a heart. He was a good-looking older man with silver at his temples and Bow’s wide, square shoulders, and even though he was slightly shorter than Bow he was muscled and held himself like he was ready for a fight, unlike Lance. The man’s mustache twitched and he rushed us, hands out in my direction.

 _Nuts and freakin’ bolts!_ Instinct had me bounding forward, grasping his wrist and turning into him with my elbow, but much like my training sessions, nothing went the way I thought it would. I connected with his stomach and he whuffed out a breath of air, but when I tried to roll him over my shoulder he already had me around the middle. He picked me up off my feet and slammed me to the floor in one smooth motion I admired even as I braced for impact. 

And boy, did I meet the floor. My heat bounced once. It hurt, but was a pain I was used to. He was over me with his fist high. I flinched and closed my eyes. When I opened them again he wasn’t over me, but flailing a few feet away with Bow straining against his arm. There was yelling from off to the side, Lance, but I couldn’t really think about what he was saying other than he was telling everyone to stop in between ranting. Bow and the man were having a shoving match and books rained down from the shelf as they slammed into it together.

“George, if you touch him, I swear… I’ll, damn it!” Bow yelled as Lance came over and smacked them both on the head.

George shoved Bow off, but seemed wary of injuring Lance and went rigid between eh two. “Have you gone insane? Why is there a horde officer in my house? Why are you dressed that way, Bow? Are you being—” 

The man turned toward me again and Bow was on him, dragging him away from me.

“Stop, stop, stop!” Lance yelled, and he stepped solidly between me and the fight. I groaned and flopped back against the floor, embarrassed.

“I can handle myself,” I croaked and raised a hand into the air, but I was still catching my breath. Slowly, I sat up. Lance hunkered down to offer a hand, along with a frown that looked just like Bow’s. He got a good hold on me and stood, dragging me upright with him. The beads in his hair tinkled out an easy, happy sound.

“I lost my book,” I said, still a little dazed.

Bow and the other man were still glaring at each other as Lance bent and found my book, and then gave it back to me with a small smile.

“George, whatever you have to say to Bow, I’m telling you right now, don’t lay a hand on this one again, or he won’t listen to you _at all._ ”

The man, George, I guess, swung around toward Lance and I felt like I should try to get between them, he was dangerous after all, but Lance only chuckled and pulled me back with a light touch on my shoulder when I attempted to edge between them.

“You’re protecting someone wearing that insignia too? What sort of drugs were slipped into the water this morning, and why the hell are you dressed for war?” George tugged on Bow’s quiver, and Bow swatted at him.

“Leave off.”

Lance turned his back on them and smiled at me, brushing off my front, though I was so caked in dirt it didn’t matter. “Come on, sweetie. I’m so sorry. You have your book, good. Let’s go look at you in the kitchen.” He put his arm around me, much the same way he had when he’d brought me in, and ushered me toward the archway the sun poured out of to light the floorboards. I squinted as we got closer to the bright light. It hurt my eyes, but I wanted to be in it at the same time.

“Why are you babying him? Gods, your father and children, even ones who could kill him. This is beyond the pale. Who is he? Bow, I want answers.” I craned my neck to look at the man Bow squared off with, and while I knew Bow was formidable, I didn’t’ like this.

“You seem to know that man. Will he try to hurt Bow?”

Lance’s brown eyes squinted with humor. “That’s his other father, dear. No, he won’t hurt him. He was actually scared you were going to hurt Bow,” he said to me. The sunlight gleamed on his glasses and I gasped.

“Me?” I puffed up taller. No one ever thought I was scary.

He laughed and I urged me forward faster when they began to shout at each other.

“I want him out of my house!”

“Then I’m going too.” 

My stomach roiled, but Lance didn’t look worried. The room we entered was cheery, constructed of more wood beams, beige walls made of some material that looked bumpy and I wanted to run my hand over, with stones along the bottom. The floor was flat, polished rock as well, and there was a long, wooden table with about fifteen chairs around it in the middle of the floor. Plants sat in boxes along a windowsill and I drifted that way.

Lance only smiled at me as I went to inspect them. They pulled at me and seemed to turn my way when I got close. 

“Are you sure they’ll be okay?” I glanced out into the other room when the shouting didn’t die down, but he merely sighed and turned to the archway. He grasped something in the middle of the doorjamb and pulled, and then a door slid out and over. He closed off the archway between us and the yelling.

“I promise they won’t murder each other. Bow and George have always had the closest of relationships, but they’re too much alike.” He grinned at me. “They’ll sort things out while I sort you out.”

“Me?” I looked down at myself. “I’m fine.” 

“Let me see you anyway.” 

I shrugged and went to the chair he pulled out from the table. I sat down, and he got on his knees beside me. His clothes were so loose and strange looking compared to what we usually wore in the Fright Zone, but I liked how they made him seem soft and friendly. He smiled at me and reached out to look over my wrists. 

“He didn’t get me there, just tossed me. It wasn’t a hard hit.”

“You’re used to things like that?”

“Oh, sure.”

Instead of Lance relaxing, he only frowned harder. “What are your measurements, sweetie?”

He kept calling me that, and I wasn’t sure what that meant, but his smile seemed friendlier.

“I’m a service size four.”

He sighed. “I forgot. Okay, but do you know your measurements in Etherian increments? We measure our clothing that way.” 

“What’s wrong with my uniform?” I plucked at my shirt. Sure, it was dirty and needed a wash, but I’d been in much worse condition before without anyone caring. “I know I’m not presentation ready, but no one’s around.” 

There was a type of stove I’d never seen before off to one side of the room and another large hearth with a fire going in it. In spite of that, it wasn’t uncomfortable in here heat wise, and a pot on the stove began to whistle in a cheerful way that made me sigh. Finally, some random noise. “Everything here is too quiet,” I said as he got to his feet. He made a small humming sound as he removed the whistling pot from the stove. He sat it aside on a mat and got down four mugs from a cupboard. He put something in them from an earthenware pot and then poured the water in the mugs. When he was done, he turned toward me.

“For me, it won’t be quiet much longer. I’m enjoying the silence while I can.” He grinned.

“What do you mean?”

He tugged at his baggy shirt and when he made it tighter over his stomach, I gasped. There was a small round bump there.

“I know,” he said with a smile. “I’m older. What am I thinking? I’ve heard it from all of our friends.” He rolled his eyes. 

“You’re… there’s a baby in there?” Wide-eyed, I stared at him. “How… I mean, how does it… happen?” I frowned at him. “I understand for girls they, um, with the… you know… but….”

He laughed, but that little line was back between his eyebrows. “Oh, dear. You’re going to end up in trouble. Bow did the right thing bringing you here.” He sighed. “Stay there. You keep that book, but I’m getting you like… four more.” He went to leave the room and I stared after him confused, but before he could open the door he’d slid closed when we came in, it was pulled back by the man who’d trounced me, and Bow was right behind him. The man’s mustache twitched back and forth and he stared hard in my direction. I fought not to slouch.

“You’re leaving,” he said, and my stomach curdled.

“Uh… okay,” I whispered.

“Oh, no he’s not,” Lance contradicted in a cheery sing-song. He smiled at me and winked. Bow pumped a fist in the air, but let it drop when George gave him a glare.

“Why not?”

“Because that little omega happens to be in dire need of what we do best.”

“Omega?” George crossed his arms over his chest, pulling his shirt tight there and making the heart on his shirt stark. “What do we do best?”

“Take care of people.” Lance stepped forward and dropped a kiss on the other man’s nose and my chest trembled with it. The move was so casual, and both men seemed comfortable with the easy touches. I didn’t even know you could do that, really, in front of other people without getting into trouble.

“He’s from the Horde. I keep saying this. Bow just keeps saying he’s good at heart.” George tossed up his hands.

“Yes, I agree,” Lance said with a firm nod.

“I give up. I’m going to go out and scout the forest. Bow says he’s worried they might have been followed, and I guess our son has been fighting for three fucking years, so he would know whether or not he should be worried. Queen Angella is completely irresponsible for relying on teenagers in this battle.” 

Lance nodded and his jaw firmed. “Yes, but what’s done is done. You and Bow are going out there?” 

“Yes.”

“If there’s no trouble, dinner will be in three hours. Keep the time,” Lance said sharply to both of them. They nodded at him. I sat there stunned as Lance and George embraced and kissed again. Bow stepped easily around them to come to my side.

“Are you all right? You looked like you got up fine. I can’t believe Dad did that. I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah. That was nothing.” I shrugged because it was true.

He nodded and stared at me for a second and then let out a slow breath. “We’ll be back. Let Lance fuss over you a little. It makes him happy.” He picked up my hand and pressed a quick kiss to my knuckles, like that was nothing, like it didn’t send heat directly to my abdomen and lower, and with a quick smile he turned and left, George following him on the way out. I slid my hand down to my stomach and held it there as a hard throb that was so good it was almost bad slammed around my stomach. Lance watched them go until the front door closed with a hollow thud and then his attention was back to me. He smiled.

“Now, let’s get you cleaned up, honey. I think Bryson’s old clothes will fit you. Do you like greens? Or maybe Brandon’s clothes. Do you prefer reds?”

I shuddered at the mere mention of Horde colors. “If I go back there, they’re going to kill me.” I didn’t mean to drag him into the mess of my life, but he had been so nice and the words just tumbled out.

“We won’t let that happen. No more talk like that. I suspect… well, you’d best just get used to me helping you along when you need it.” He hustled over and took my hand, urging me to my feet with more energy than I’d ever see a man his size bounce around with. “Come on. Yes, I think we’ll dress you in light green and white leather pants? You’re probably used to leather, aren’t you? George’s old pants should be in the attic.” 

He let out a noise and let go of me to race over to the mugs. He grabbed one and came back. He thrust it into my hands. Steaming liquid that smelled sweet and like—spicy ice?—assaulted my senses.

“What is this?”

“Spearmint, sweetie. There’s no caffeine. I thought that safest given…. You haven’t already, with Bow, you know?”

I stared at him. He had his mouth thinned.

“Uh…. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“If you have, it’s fine, but you should really take precautions. Bow’s had the talk, but you don’t seem very clued in.” He studied me and pointed at his own belly, as if that was supposed to put this conversation into perspective. I shuffled awkwardly in place.

“Um, I’m not sure….” I glanced at his belly. “I mean, I think I know what you’re getting at.” My face grew hot. “But I don’t… I mean, I’m not… I’ve never.” I closed my eyes and brought my mug up to my mouth. I sipped the warm liquid and the taste exploded on my tongue. I moaned with it and lowered the mug to stare into the murky depths. “This is so good. Nuts and bolts. I’ve never had anything this good.” I slurped too fast and my tongue felt like it was getting a little burned, but I didn’t care. I emptied the mug and stared at the leaves that had settled onto the bottom. “Wow.”

“Yeah, I was going to say that, too,” he said with a laugh. “Well, I’m not going to torture you with anymore awkward conversation. I am here for any questions, however. We’ll get you a bath and then you can get dressed in something clean and rest while I make dinner. Follow me.”

I did just that, up a wide wooden staircase with beautifully carved railings and past rows and rows of bookshelves in a hallway until we were in another part of the building that seemed more like living quarters. He stopped in front of a room and hesitated, and then shrugged before he pushed the door open, almost like he was having a conversation with himself. 

“I’ll give you Bryson’s old room. I know… you two will probably….” He sighed and patted my head. I flinched and he frowned. “But the parent in me says you two should sleep apart.” He smiled and I felt like I was missing something.

“You’re going to let me sleep here tonight?” 

He laughed. “Yes, of course.” The room we entered was huge, with a large bed done up in green blankets that seemed like it would be fit for a king, and, of course, more bookshelves and a dresser and a chair looking out of a large window. The wood, beige theme was in here too, but there were heavy white curtains on the windows as well. Through the room with the bed, he went into another one and the sound of water running drew me closer. I sat my book on the bed and followed him in. There was a perfectly round white tub made of some sort of shiny white stone set into the floor, and water filled it from a silver spout. The water steamed. This was strange. We only had small shower cubicles at the compound. Lance pulled a cloth and a bar of soap from a cupboard under a sink. In the corner was a toilet, which thank goodness, was familiar to me. Everything else was so weird. 

“What’s wrong with the soap. Why is it purple?” I asked when he turned toward me.

He stared at the soap and then at me and grinned. “Here.” He held it out, and I took it from him. “Smell the bar,” he said with another laugh.

I did, and promptly sneezed. A pleasant perfume was mixed in with the soap. “I think I like it,” I said. He pulled out two small glass bottles and walked over to sit them on the floor beside the tub. He put out towels and two more wash clothes.

“Don’t’ be afraid to drain the water and refill it if you need to,” he said with a nose wrinkle. “I’m going to go sort out some clothes I think will fit you. Take your time.”

He closed the door behind himself, leaving me in the clean, quiet room with water running. Considering my day started with me curled up in a ball in a dirty corner of the shared bunk room—without even a single comfort because I fucked up so badly in the training room yesterday that everyone agreed I didn’t deserve even a pillow—I felt like I was falling sideways into a dream.

Carefully, I undressed, which left me feeling vulnerable. I took the knife I usually wore strapped to my thigh and brought it over to put it near the tub, just in case. Then I stepped down into the water and moaned. There were bruises on my arms, stomach, and thighs in various states of healing, and the water was amazing on them. Greenish and purple tinges were usual on me because my skin was so pale, and I didn’t ever seem to toughen up the way everyone else had. I eased farther into the water and there was ledge for sitting, and I sank down gratefully. The warm water swirled up to my waist and then higher as the tub filled. I let it go until it was up to my chest and then reached over and pushed down the water knobs. The silence was almost deafening. I relaxed my head back and sank down into the blissful heat while I stared at the ceiling. The sun was getting golden there, closer to dying.

This was the longest I’d ever been out of the Fright Zone, and I felt so amazing right now. My stomach rumbled with hunger, but it wasn’t bad. I’d gone days without eating before. And that Spearmint infusion had been so good. Hordak hated the food from the Rebellion, so we hadn’t been allowed it, but now I was wondering if that was because he knew how good it was, and he didn’t want us defecting on the basis of that alone. Was that what I’d done? Had I defected?

My heart raced. Bow wasn’t here right now. When he was around, I barely felt like I could think for the way he made me feel, but here I was, in the home I think he was raised in, much like I’d been raised in the Battle Compound. How was he such a wonderful fighter when his parents were obviously strategists? 

I mulled that mystery over and the hot water had my eyelids growing heavy. I rested them for a moment.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._ I groaned and opened my eyes into darkness. The water wasn’t warm anymore, and I sloshed, confused.

“Are you okay?”

 _Bow. It was Bow’s voice._ I tried to get my bearings and stood, but slipped. The ducking under the cool water freaked me out and woke me up. I came up sputtering and blinked into the glare of a warm hand lantern.

Bow sat it down on the counter by the sink and rushed over. “Are you okay?”

“I feel like you’re always asking that.” My voice was scratchy with lack of use.

“I am,” he said with a laugh.

I pushed my hair wet back from my eyes and stared at him for a few seconds, struck all over again by his handsome face and large, muscled body and the wonderful musky smell that I was beginning to think of as just _Bow_. 

“I fell asleep.”

He stuck his hand in the water and gasped. “Pull the plug. We’ll run new water. It doesn’t seem like you got a chance to bathe?”

All at once, I was shockingly aware of how naked I was and flushed, running hot from head to toe. “No. I didn’t use the soap.”

“Lance sent me to find you as soon as I got in,” he said quietly. “The plug is in the bottom. Pull it.” Even as he spoke he was twisting the knobs to let new, warm, wonderful water into the tub. I did as he said and soon I was sitting in steaming hot water again.

“Here, I’ll help,” Bow said quietly. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but he came over behind me, where there was barely enough room for him on the floor between the tub lip and the wall, and took one of the bottles of soap into his hands. I put some in his palm, and its aroma reminded me of the tea I’d had earlier.

“I like that smell,” I said.

“Dad makes it.” He plopped some of the soap onto my head, and I shivered with the coldness. He laughed and began to work it into my hair with his strong fingers.

“No one’s ever done this for me,” I said quietly. Strangely, the semidarkness allowed me to say these things to him that I wouldn’t have been able to in the sunlight.

“That’s too bad,” he murmured back. He finished, and I ducked my head under the water a few times. He put something else in my hair that felt nice, and he worked it in too. Tingles slid down my spine and I leaned into his touch. He sighed, a low, manly sound that had my stomach jumping.

“Okay. Rinse that, too, and then all you have left is the body soap.” He pushed the bar of soap and a washcloth closer to me. “I think you better do that yourself.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll wait outside your room to walk you down. Lance left clothes on the bed for you, okay?”

I nodded, unable to look at him for some reason.

“I’ll light the lamps for you.” He stood and went to the wall on the bathroom and did something, and next thing I knew light flared beside the mirror from a wall sconce. The fire behind the glass glowed with a different hue from the sodium lights in the Fright Zone, softer and nicer, and I flushed when Bow looked at me from across the room.

“Thank you.”

“Any time,” he whispered, and then he took up the lantern he’d brought in and strode out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind himself. I didn’t waste a second. I washed, absolutely loving the herbal scent that rose around me as I did so, and when I was done I pulled the drain plug and rose. My legs felt like rubber, but I managed to climb out of the low tub and picked up the towels. I dried myself off and wrapped one around my waist before I went out into the bedroom. Lanterns on the walls were lit out here now, too, and I smiled to myself as I saw the clothes on the bed.

There were underwear, which I hadn’t expected. They were little shorts, where I was used to something tighter, but I slipped them on and they fit well enough. The pants were white leather, but soft on the inside, lined with something that was easy on the skin. They laced up the front and I struggled with them for a minute or two before I got them closed. Next came a green long-sleeved tunic that pulled over the top of my head and left a vee exposed of my chest, but not too much. The top hung loosely, and swung a little, nothing like my tighter shirts from my uniform. It almost felt obscene to have the fabric shifting around. My nipples peaked at the pressure that glanced over them.

I bit the inside of my lip and went to the mirror over the dresser. My hair was dark with the water, much more so than it would be when it was dry. I brushed it behind my ears. It was already beginning to curl at the ends, something I usually brushed out, but I didn’t have one here. I let my hair go, and stared, mesmerized. I’d never seen myself out of uniform like this. I was like a whole new person. After a minute or so, I went to the door and opened it. Bow stood outside in the hallway with his back leaned against the wall across the way and the lantern on the floor beside him. He had his arms crossed. When I stepped out he straightened up and stared at me. My cheeks heated and I glanced down at myself. 

“Did I do anything wrong with these clothes?” 

“Absolutely not,” he said. “You look perfect.” He stepped over and held out his hand. “May I?”

I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me, but I carefully settled my hand in his hold, and he squeezed. He bent and picked up the lantern. The warm tingles in my palm were just another in a long line of difference between here and the Fright Zone, but they firmed up my resolve that leaving was the right thing to do.

“George and Lance, my parents,” he clarified, though I’d guessed that was what they were already, “ate when we first got back. Lance said he’d see you in the morning and had more books for you.” Bow frowned. “I’m sorry if he talks to you about anything you think isn’t his business.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay. What kind of rations are we eating? Gray are my favorite.”

He gave me a long look, but didn’t drop my hand from his warm one as he led me down the staircase. 

“Mashed potatoes, a roast, gravy, vegetables from the garden that Dad tossed in with the roast, I think. And chocolate cake because my Daddy loves me best and always makes one when I’m home.” He smirked at me. “My brothers and sisters don’t get chocolate.”

I had to smile along with him, even though I knew what precisely none of that was. We passed his parents snuggled up on a couch in the main room with books in their hands in front of the fireplace, and while Lance waved at me and I waived back, George, the hit first and ask questions second guy, didn’t send even one stray eyeball my direction.

My stomach clenched, and Bow squeezed my hand. “It’s okay,” he said softly.

When we went to the kitchen, he pulled out a chair for me at the table, and there were dishes with food on them that smelled good when I leaned over and sniffed. “This is it?” I asked looking up.

“Uh, gods, I forgot. Adora said you only eat those bars of stuff in the Fright Zone.” 

“Yeah.” I stared at my plate loaded with foreign looking foods. “This smells good, though.”

“Well, I hope you like it,” he said with a laugh.

I picked up my fork, speared a white fluffy pile of food, and brought it to my lips. He stared and I felt a little self-conscious, but I shoved the food into my mouth. Warm, fatty, gloriousness exploded on my tongue. “Is ‘ood,” I said around a mouthful and tried to shove another in. 

“It won’t run away,” he said and winked. I ate as fast as I could until my stomach felt like it was going to burst, and then there was a smaller plate set to the side that captured my attention. I slid my empty plate away and pulled that one toward me.

“What’s this?”

“Heaven,” Bow said with a sigh. When I glanced across he table, I realized he already had his small plate halfway finished, so I didn’t feel bad for the way I’d rushed through my own food. He watched me and my faced heated again as I swiped my fork across the fluffy stuff on top of the square cut of food. “It’s the right shape. I like things this shape.”

He snickered.

I popped the fork into my mouth and groaned as pure sweetness hit my tongue. After that it was all done for, and I ate as fast as I could. When I was finished, I sat back with a sigh and Bow was laughing again. 

“Good?” 

“The best ever,” I enthused.

“Sit tight while I do the dishes, and then we can go talk. We need to figure a few thing out,” he said quietly. I nodded and he stood, taking the plate from me. I sat back in my chair and sort of reveled in the amazing feeling of having my belly not want more food when I finished eating. That was rare. My eyes were annoying, in that they wanted to close again.

“Everything’s so peaceful here. How can you stand the quiet?” I asked, but the lack of soldiers clonking around and alarms going off far away was letting me unwind. I’d never felt this… empty of fear. My eyelids slid shut while Bow took care of cleaning the dishes at the sink. Next thing I knew he was touching my arm and smiling down at me.

“Come on. Let me get you to bed. We can talk tomorrow.”

He helped me stand, which made me feel weird. I shouldn’t need help. Weakness was unacceptable, but he only smiled.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“No problem.” He shrugged. 

Before I knew it I was standing in front of the door to the room I’d apparently been given the use of. He shuffled in place there beside me, staring at me like he was waiting for me to say something. “Uh,” he pointed at the next door down the hall. “That’s my room.” 

“Okay.”

He slipped a step closer to me and leaned in. My heart pounded. I tilted my head back and licked my lips.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked, his breath a sweet burst against my cheek.

“Bow, go to bed,” someone snapped from the direction of the staircase. I flinched and turned to look. George stood there, and Lance elbowed him sharply, but Bow grinned, rubbing a hand over the back of his head.

“Just doing that now, jeez. Goodnight,” Bow said in a rush, and spun around. He disappeared into his own room and the door shut loudly behind him. I waved at Lance, ignored George, and went into the room I’d been allotted. Once in there, though, the quiet peacefulness seemed to evaporate. The bed looked massive. I’d never slept on anything that large in my life. The quiet got to me. I sat on the bed and picked up the book, but couldn’t focus on it to start reading. The windows gleamed an eerie black, and when I went to them, I stared outside at the darkness. That was also weird. There was always light in the Fright Zone.

I paced. I laid on top of the covers of the bed after that. I couldn’t get comfortable. I paced some more. Groaning and tired, I went to the door. Sleeping alone was just weird. I crept down the hallway to Bow’s door and opened it. Inside, I was happy to note the room was almost exactly the same as the one I had left. There was a very low candle burning on his bedside table, and a salty, musky scent lingered in the air that clenched my stomach—I liked it. I crept inside and closed the door behind me, feeling better already. When I went over to sit on the floor beside Bow’s bed, I felt even better, and I curled up there on carpet next to him. His breath was low and even in the room. This was nicer than where I slept last night because the carpeting was some cushion between the floor and myself, and I was able to spread out onto my stomach without worrying someone would come along and kick me awake for the hell of it. Finally, I was able to settle.

Sometime not long later, or at least I was still bone tired, something hard pressed on my lower back and I groaned from the pressure. I’d been nearly asleep. I turned and stared up at Bow, who sat only in his undergarments on the edge of the bed.

“What the heck? Kyle? I almost squished you.”

“Sorry. Tired. I can move,” I mumbled and squirmed about an arm’s width to the right. “Sorry.” 

“Why are you sorry?” he asked with a laugh. “What was wrong with your room? Just… hold on.”

He went into the room that I figured was a bathroom, and my cheeks heated when I heard him relieving himself and then a flush and water running. He came back out and the next thing I knew there were warm, strong hands rolling me onto my back.

“Wha—”

He got me under my back and lifted. I gasped and clung to him, but he only rose and rested me on his bed. He let me go stood back and grinned down into my face.

“There, I can’t step on you here.”

“It’s too soft.”

He shook his head and climbed over me. Soon, he was behind me, his large body curved around mine, all hard muscles and heat. He slipped his arm under my head so that I rested on his bicep and wrapped the other one securely around my middle. “How’s that?” he asked, directly into my ear. I squirmed back into his body heat and the comfort of his embrace, and he groaned, the sound sending frantic curls of electricity pelting through my stomach. “You gotta stop,” he whispered, but he pressed closer.

Nestled against my ass was a bulge, and I was sure I knew what it was because I was having a similar problem. I bit the tip of my tongue for a second. “I… I’m….” I licked my lips and rocked back against him. He let out a little puff of air against my cheek and flexed the arm across my middle.

“Shh.” He eased up his hold enough to rub a hand over my stomach, but that didn’t help because for a wild second all I could think about was him moving his hand lower. My shaft had firmed up to the point that I could feel the laces on my pants straining. I squirmed and he rocked against my ass before his entire body went rigid and he dragged in a deep breath. “I’m not going to do anything you don’t want, Kyle, just because you’re in my bed. I want you to know that right now. But I also don’t think we should really… right now. Yet.”

“You don’t think we should what?” I asked, turned on and feeling fuzzy headed.

He snickered, but this time his tone was low and there was _something_ about the harsh, breathy scrape of his laughter that had me pressing harder against that pleasant ridge nudging against my behind. He mouthed a kiss right underneath my ear that exploded heat and tingles into my gut and had me struggling for breath. I rocked back against him. 

“Bow, please,” I said softly, not even sure what I was really asking for, except for his hand to slip down my front between my legs. He pressed his palm more firmly to my stomach.

“Not tonight. You wanted to be in here with me, right?” 

I nodded.

“Then you’re going to sleep, okay?”

It was weird because as wound up as I was, I was calmer in this room with him behind me and his arms around me, so I nodded. We lay there together for a long while with him carefully smoothing his hand in a maddening, slow circle over my stomach, but eventually the excitement quieted into a sweet content buzzing in my stomach and breath gusting into my ear relaxed me.

 _This feels so good._ I cupped my smaller hand over Bow’s on my belly and he mumbled, gathering me closer. I fell asleep feeling entirely and completely protected by the most amazing warrior I’d ever met.


End file.
